The Rockies have acquired lefty James Pazos from the Phillies, the clubs announced. Infielder Hunter Stovall is heading to the Philadelphia organization in return.
Pazos was designated for assignment recently by the Phils. He’ll head onto the Colorado 40-man roster but does not have to be added to the active roster.
Soon to turn 28, Pazos landed with the Phils in the Jean Segura swap this past offseason. Things didn’t turn out as hoped in Philadelphia, leading to a surprisingly quick DFA. He failed to win a big-league pen job after a rough camp and has continued to struggle at Triple-A to open the season.
That showing came after some curious developments last year. Pazos had previously sported 96 mph heat and a good slider, but saw the fastball velo dip even as he went to that pitch almost exclusively last year. His swinging-strike rate fell by nearly 25%.
Despite the recent issues, it’s easy to see why the Rockies decided to roll the dice. Pazos carries a 3.54 ERA through 112 MLB frames, with 9.3 K/9 against 3.5 BB/9 and a 47.8% groundball rate. He has been effective against both lefties and righties. And he’s optionable, which creates some additional flexibility.
On the other side of this swap is the 22-year-old Stovall. He was a 21st-round draft pick last year but has performed well thus far as a professional. After hitting ten home runs in 199 plate appearances at the Rookie ball level last year, he’s off to a .281/.414/.439 slash with as many walks as strikeouts (a dozen apiece) in seventy Class A plate appearances. Whether he can combine the power and patience remains to be seen.
Solid lottery return
just a scratch off ticket
I was surprised that the Mariners sent him to Philly in the Segura-Crawford deal. I am even more surprised the Phillies let him go so quickly.
Cheap lefties that throw 98 mph aren’t easy to come by.
He used to be a lefty that threw 96.
He currently is a lefty that throws 93.
Looks like the Phillies will have a good prospect. I wanted to see Pazos in the majors, but hopefully Stovall becomes a great player.
Stovall is a non-prospect/org-filler. College guy playing vs kids a couple years younger. No major league skillset.
Whit Merrifield says hi
Yes, he does
Thousands of other examples that aren’t Whit Merrifield say hi too.
Thousands? Give me ten
He has played well enough to be sent to Clearwater(A+) to start his Phillies career. They have a serious need for power in their OF. He will start to see better competition there and if he does well he could end the year in AA. Let’s wait until then to start passing judgement on his future.
Remember Clearwater isn’t a great park for power hitters. But if he can slug 10-15!HRs there he’ll LOVE playing in Reading
It’s good to see someone who has some common sense/logic to go along with their comments and not spew stuff just for the sake of doing it.
Much prefer trades like this to waiver wire additions.
“A player for a player” is more educational than “A player for cash.”
true, though i think cash would have been more useful of a get.
would’ve liked to hold onto Paxos, but we have a lot of RP and he was ultimately expendible. still, id rather keep him than Alvarez.
As a Rockies fan I like the deal, got a pitcher with big league talent that can be stashed in minors for a borderline prospect.
The way IF’s are dropping Phillies will need him